


Thorns and Horns

by maskedfox



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Assault, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Coming Out, Dragons, Fluff and Angst, How tf did i almost forget that tag, Hurt/Comfort, I've never used this stupid ass tagging system before, Idk if the violence warrants the warning but i'm gonna be safe, Internalized Homophobia, It's really not as bad as it sounds, Nonbinary Character, Other, Self-Acceptance, Self-Discovery, THIS ISNT WINGS OF FIRE I SWEAR, The Author is Trans, Transitioning, Transphobia, Yes i'm a furry what about it, based on my own experiences, pray for me- Freeform, vent fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-17 07:27:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29221680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maskedfox/pseuds/maskedfox
Summary: Nightsweep was falling apart. She couldn’t figure out what was wrong, but something was definitely wrong.When her mother refers to her as her sweet little girl, Nightsweep feels like she’s choking. When her father tells her to act like a proper girl, she feels like her soul is tearing in two.She especially hated the dead giveaway of sex on her body- male Shadehunters have horns. Before they evolved past it, they used their horns to fight over females. In modern times, it’s more of a display of strength.And as Nightsweep looked into the pond, with a stranger staring back at her, she couldn’t help but imagine her own horns decorating her head.
Relationships: Original Character(s)/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	Thorns and Horns

**Author's Note:**

> If you're reading this, thanks?? What the fuck are you supposed to put in these author's notes?
> 
> Also the attempted non-con sectioned is marked with a TW in case you want to skip it.

Nightsweep was falling apart. She couldn’t figure out what was wrong, but something was _definitely_ wrong.

When her mother refers to her as her sweet little girl, Nightsweep feels like she’s choking. When her father tells her to act like a proper girl, she feels like her soul is tearing in two.

She _especially_ hated the dead giveaway of sex on her body- male Shadehunters have horns. Before they evolved past it, they used their horns to fight over females. In modern times, it’s more of a display of strength.

And as Nightsweep looked into the pond, with a stranger staring back at her, she couldn’t help but imagine her own horns decorating her head.

It was a selfish, delusional wish- being a female Shadehunter was something to be _proud_ of, not ashamed of. But the thought of having her own horns made her heart speed up and her mouth curve. She wouldn’t even care how big they were; if she was honest, she would prefer them to be small.

Nightsweep heard her mother call, and she called back, wincing at the pitch. It was lower than most of the females in her tribe, but it was still high and squeaky and would probably become more feminine as she matured.

_My body’s working against me,_ she thought, lashing her tail. She padded off to join her mother.

-_-

Nightsweep couldn’t believe she was doing this. In her claws was a headband made from a leather strap, expertly made by one of the craftsmen in the tribe.

And shakily placed on top were a pair of clay horns.

The dragon was quaking. This was _wrong._ There is something wrong with her for wanting to do this. She was a girl, and girls don’t have horns, and she should be happy with that.

The more she reminded herself of that, the more tears gathered in her eyes. Before she could start sobbing, she put on the headband.

The feeling of something on her head was foreign, but not unwelcome. She flicked her ears at the stimulation.

She glanced into the pond, almost scared of what she would find.

She found _herself_ in the reflection.

The horns were small, a perfect fit for her. They were meant to be there.

Her breath caught in her throat.

They should’ve _always_ been there. Why wasn’t she _born_ with them?

If this was testing the waters, the next thing she wanted to do was putting her feet in.

She spoke from deep in her stomach. “My name is Nightsweep. I’m a Shadehunter.”

Her voice was low and breathy- if you heard it you wouldn’t be able to tell which sex it came from.

Nightsweep’s eyes were wide, and her heart was pounding. Euphoria was bubbling in her chest.

This was who she was.

  
  


-_-

Leaving home meant leaving the social rules and roles of Shadehunter tribes behind and learning new ones.

As it turns out, four-legged dragons aren’t the only kind of sentient animal- Nightsweep learned this the hard way when she met Horizon.

Horizon had two legs and two wings, and was an incredibly powerful flyer, albeit very loud. She said she was a wyvern, and that, no, her having wings for legs wasn’t a birth defect, and yes, Nightsweep should probably refrain from asking probing questions about wyvern biology unless she wanted to start a fight.

“I haven’t ever seen a Shadehunter before,” Horizon said with a curious gaze. “Who are you attracted to?”

The question made Nightsweep freeze. “Huh?”

Horizon’s curiousness was replaced with concern. “Do you not know?”

Nightsweep’s eyes were wide with confusion. “No, I know, I like boys, I just…Why’re you asking me if I like girls if I’m a girl?”

And that’s how Nightsweep found out about same-sex attraction, from a wyvern attracted to both boys and girls.

The world’s a lot more diverse than she thought.

She liked it that way.

-_-

Horizon starts traveling with her and Nightsweep thinks she’s starting to understand that same-sex attraction stuff.

It’s the early dawn, and the Shadehunter’s on watch duty. She turns around to find Horizon curled around herself, sleeping calmly. Her deep breathing and the warmth radiating from her pale orange and beige scales made Nightsweep’s face heat up. For a split second, she daydreamed of curling around the other.

The dragon shook the thoughts away, replacing it with shame. This didn’t feel right. She’d never even considered liking girls before as a possibility- and surely not _her,_ right? Of course there’s nothing wrong with Horizon, and Horizon is attracted to both genders. But it feels like there’s something wrong with Nightsweep.

_There’s no way,_ the Shadehunter thinks to herself, but then she thought about chasing girls and trying to kiss them when she was younger, and how there was this older dragon in her tribe that made her heart do funny things, and while she watched Horizon shift in her sleep, she couldn’t help but wonder.

-_-

Nightsweep still has the headband, and it’s burning a hole in her satchel. She’s hyper aware of it at all times, and she wants to put it back on, but Horizon would think she was a _freak_ and Nightsweep _really_ doesn’t want to lose the only friend she’s ever had.

She’s aware of this even when the feeling of Horizon’s touch on her scales cloud her mind. It was a quiet, cool night, and the two had been getting more and more affectionate with each other. Lingering gazes turned into compliments which then turned into sharing a nest every night “to preserve warmth”. Now, Horizon’s wings were wrapped around Nightsweep’s body as the latter melted into the touch.

The warmth was almost overwhelming, but at the same time the Shadehunter wanted more. She wanted Horizon to never let go of her, to kiss and nuzzle and nip at her. Nightsweep’s forelegs quickly inserted themselves into the situation, and she ran her claws over Horizon’s body.

“Nightsweep,” she murmured, pressing her head to the other’s.

“Yeah, Horizon?” the Shadehunter’s voice was breathless.

“Don’t make me say it, but…” the wyvern placed a kiss on Nightsweep’s forehead. The dragon whined slightly, relaxing even more.

“Yeah.. yeah, I know.”

“I didn’t think you liked girls.”

“I didn’t think I did either.” They both snorted.

The nervousness crept back into Nightsweep’s heart as she was reminded of what was actually happening. Yes, she was a girl. Horizon was too. They were the definition of same-sex attraction.

So why did it _feel_ so bad?

“Nightsweep? Are you okay?” Horizon asked, noticing the dragon spacing off.

The wall inside of her broke, and Nightsweep started to cry. Horizon wrapped her wings around her even tighter, rubbing her back and whispering sweet nothings in her ear.

“I don’t wanna be a girl.”

Horizon paused. “Huh?”

“I hate it. I hate my body. I hate my voice. I hate when people tell me to act like a girl. I don’t want that.” It all came out in a jumble.

“Have you ever considered that you might not be a girl then?” Horizon asked gently.

“No, I was born one. But I so, so badly wish that I wasn’t.”

“No- Nightsweep, just because you’re born a girl doesn’t mean you _are_ a girl.”

The Shadehunter looked at the wyvern in confusion. “Huh?”

“Maybe you could try to explain what you’re feeling in a little more detail?” she suggested, eyes glazed over with affection and concern.

Nightsweep sighed, and untangled herself from the other. She grabbed the satchel and quickly put the headband on.

She felt like she was close to dying. “I- male Shadehunters have horns.” This was embarrassing. “And I’ve always been jealous of them.” She felt like a freak. “So I…” She choked up again, unable to finish.

“Nightsweep, would you be more comfortable living as a boy?”

She shook her head. “No. I- I’ve thought about it. But I w-would just be more miserable.” She paused for a moment. “I know, I’m sorry, I tricked you-”

“No no no no no, you have _nothing_ to be sorry for. What if you didn’t have to live life as a boy or a girl?”

“...Can you do that?”

“Of course! Some dragons aren’t either, or they’re both, or somewhere in between.” Horizon approached the Shadehunter slowly, and wrapped her up in a hug again. “What if instead of referring to you as she, I referred to you as they? Would that make you comfortable?”

“What do you mean?”

“Let me give you a small runthrough: ‘Oh, this is Nightsweep! They’re a Shadehunter. Yeah, I know, they’re adorable, but claws off.’”

Nightsweep thought she was going to explode. “I...I really like that.”

It was more than liking it. It felt _right,_ just as right as them being held in Horizon’s arms. Like it was who they were. 

“You’re such a cutie,” Horizon said, nuzzling into their neck. She didn’t think they were a freak. She was acting as if this was _normal,_ and was still showing Nightsweep affection.

She _loved_ them, and they loved her right back. Their heart pounded and their body shook, and it felt amazing.

They curled around each other and quickly fell asleep, and Nightsweep finally had some closure.

-TW-

Not everyone was as accepting as Horizon.

Nightsweep had started wearing the headband all the time- it made them feel better, more like themself. This was fine when them and Horizon were alone, and the wyvern was overjoyed to see her partner so happy and confident.

Walking through cities was a different story.

Nightsweep could _feel_ everyone’s eyes on them, as passing dragons tried to figure out what was going on with them. It made them ashamed and stressed, but it was either that or take the headband off and one of those was far more preferable than the other.

Horizon had left the Shadehunter alone to go talk to a doctor or something- they could barely hear her over the noise in their own brain- and she told them to wait right here, she’ll be back in just a second.

It was Hell. They just wanted everyone’s eyes off of them. Some passed by in curiousity or fondness, but most of the time it was confusion and disgust. Dragons with young children would bear their teeth at them, as if to say _how dare you express yourself in front of my child._ Nightsweep was close to crying at the 20 minute mark.

Unfortunately, they were so distracted that they didn’t notice a gang of drakes approaching.

One grabbed them by the neck and pulled them into a secluded alley, shoving his leg on their muzzle before they could scream. This was bad, but there must be something they want, right? Money maybe?

“Yo, you got it! Nice,” one drake said to another, and then turned to Nightsweep, “What the fuck do you think you’re doing here, tranny?”

_This can’t be happening._

The foot came down harder on the Shadehunter but they still tried to speak. “I don’t want...any trouble, please-”  
  


“Yeah, well, you were pretty much asking for it. You got the attention you wanted, huh? Is that why you were wearing this stupid headband?” He laughed and yanked it off Nightsweep’s head. “Do you think that wearing this makes your delusions true?”

Nightsweep’s eyes went wide. “No, please, don’t-”

The drake on top of them stomped on their head, _hard._ Nightsweep’s vision was cutting in and out and the three drakes were barely visible. Their head throbbed. They groaned. The pain started spreading to other parts of their body, and the ache in their head was getting worse and worse.

“I think you should be reminded of what you _really_ are, _freak._ ”

They felt their tail being lifted.

_No._

“Who gets it first?”

_No no no no no no no-_

Something hard was pressing against their underside. They couldn’t stop this from happening, nor were they coherent enough to speak. All they could do was cry and moan in pain-

-Until the pressure left their underside and their tail fell back down.

Nightsweep started to hyperventilate. They didn’t know what was going on anymore. They didn’t even _do_ anything besides wear that stupid fucking headband. Pain radiated from every part of their body, and there was noise, but they couldn’t identify what the noise was, besides the fact that it was _loud._ What was going on? Just a second ago they were about to get-

“-sweep? Sweetie? Please ans-”

It felt like there was water in their ears, and they went under.

-TW Over-

The next time Nightsweep woke up was in a building made of sand, on a cot.

Horizon and an unknown dragon were right in front of them, mumbling about something- it had something to do with hormones, maybe?

Horizon looked over for a split second and saw the Shadehunter awake. Her eyes widened, tears falling. The wyvern rushed to her partner’s side.

“Nightsweep, I was so worried, I’m so so sorry, I’ll make sure this _never_ happens again-”

“Horizon.” As happy as Nightsweep was to be back with their girlfriend, their head was still buzzing and everything hurt. They barely even _remembered_ how they got there. “What’s going on?” they asked.

“You’re in the healer’s den,” a new voice answered. Right, there was another dragon there- he looked like he was a Treehopper? “I’m Bark.” His voice was gentle, but firm. “Do you remember what happened?”

“I got my head bashed in by a drake…?”

The pieces started to come back together. Nightsweep gagged, eyes pricking with tears from attempting to hold the vomit in. “Someone- Horizon, I- I almost got-”

“I know, I know,” Horizon cooed, wrapping her wings around Nightsweep protectively. “I know sweetie. It’s okay. You’re safe and it’ll _never_ happen again.”

Bark cleared his throat. “Nightsweep, did they succeed?”

The Shadehunter racked their brain, eventually coming up with, “I don’t think so.” The two other dragons let out a sigh of relief.

"You'll need to stay here for a few days until that concussion gets better, but there is something I want to talk to you about in the meantime," Bark said with a small, genuine smile.

Bark explained what Horizon had told him- that Nightsweep wasn't a boy or a girl, and how badly they wanted horns, and that the headband they wore had been destroyed by the drakes. He went on, detailing how male Shadehunters grew their horns with the help of hormones.

It made Nightsweep feel worse. "I know, I don't have those hormones, so I can't grow horns."

"I was getting to that," the doctor teased, "because I think I might be able to let you grow your own horns."

  
  
If _that_ didn't get Nightsweep's attention, nothing would.

-_-

One tablet a day, Bark had said. One tablet a day and soon enough Nightsweep would have their own horns.

So why the fuck was it taking so long?

It had been a solid five months since the assault, and after they recovered they discussed what Bark was planning; The Treehopper had found a possible way to put testosterone into Nightsweep's body.

("What do we owe you for this? It must be expensive, right?"

"Don't worry about it. The only payment I need is the sight of a happy patient.")

Their voice had gotten lower, so that was worth something, they guessed.

When Nightsweep woke up, still irritated from a lack of horns, they had a pounding headache, which just seemed to make everything worse. They grumbled a good morning to Horizon-who nervously asked them to get her some water, much to their dismay-and padded over to a lake below the mountain they were sleeping on. They were ready to get the stupid fucking water and go back to bed, when something caught their eye.

Horns. On their forehead.

They weren't big in the slightest- it looked like they still had growing to do- but they were there. Pale white stubs poking through their scales.

Holy _SHIT._

And Nightsweep started sobbing, because what else are you supposed to do in this situation? Euphoria surged through them like lightning.

The horns that were always meant to be there were finally there, and they were real, and the Shadehunter was shaking with joy. They thought back to that pond, where they had looked at their reflection and saw a complete stranger, and looked into the lake, and there they were. Nightsweep. The Shadehunter.

The very, very happy Shadehunter.


End file.
